Summer 2016 - SA 318 D100
The Anthropology of Medicine (A) (4)
Class Number: 3693
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
May 9 – Aug 8, 2016: Thu, 1:30–5:20 p.m.
Vancouver
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Instructor:
Stacy Pigg
pigg@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Explores the role of biomedicine in society and culture through inquiry into the social and ideological organization of health and healing. Special attention will be paid to how biomedical categories structure experiences of the body, how means of life and death are shaped through medical interventions, and how social relations organize the delivery of biomedical technologies.
COURSE DETAILS:
This course explores how medical tools and technologies alter our relationship to ourselves, the people around us, and the social systems we live in. How do things such as the stethoscope, ultrasounds, transplanted organs, respirators, prenatal genetic maps, experimental cell cultures, and more (the list goes on) alter the ways we know our bodies and perceive our health? When do these technologies provoke moral questions – for whom? Why? What ideas -- about normalcy, about user needs, about the role of medical intervention in human futures – influence the scientific development of these technologies? How do people (health care professionals, patients, others) interact with these technologies? How do medical technologies intersect with systems of law, policy, and governance? Under what circumstances do medical technologies become explicit subjects of political or ethical debate, and under what circumstances do they push us into certain politics and ethics without us realizing that our actions have been thus shaped? This course provides an overview of work in the anthropology of medicine and science/technology studies that seeks to understand these questions.
The course involves hands-on discussion of case studies: you will engage with the voices of many people through the work of researchers who have attended closely to the perspectives of people involved, in differing ways, with technological innovation to advance biomedicine. We will also consider the ways that issues of biotechnology are framed in news, documentaries, and other public discourse.
Class time is organized around in-depth discussion of issues raised by the readings (not lectures explaining the readings), so you should be prepared to use weekly out-of-class study time to read and prepare notes before each class. Attending class regularly, preparing well, and taking part actively are important for your learning in this class. One aim of this course is to help you develop skills for active, thoughtful reading. In addition to gaining some understanding of the complicated ways that biomedical technologies come into being and shape ourselves and our world, you will also be developing analytical skills that help us think critically about issues of medicine and technology as we encounter them in our lives, now…and in the future.
Grading
- 500 word article summaries (3 x 10% each): 30%
- 800 word analytical essays based on class readings (2 x 20% each): 40%
- Participation (includes in-class discussions, discussion leadership, and activities; pre-class reading notes, learning reflections, and in-class writing): 30%
NOTES:
Where a final exam is scheduled and you do not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, you will be assigned an N grade. Unless otherwise specified on the course outline, all other graded assignments in this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned.
REQUIREMENTS:
Students will receive an N grade if they do not complete any one of the following assignments: 3 article summaries; 2 analytical essays; participation. Missing participation components will result in a lower grade. A minimum of 60% in participation is required to complete the course.
Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct Policy
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T 20.01) and academic dishonesty and misconduct procedures (S10.01‐ S10.04). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student.html.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Skloot, Rebecca The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Crown Publishers (Random House) 2010.
Rapp, Rayna Testing Women, Testing the Fetus. Routledge. 2000.
Articles to be posted on Canvas
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site contains information on what is meant by academic dishonesty and where you can find resources to help with your studies. There is also a section on tutoring.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS